


The perfect height

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Series: Tumblr prompts [43]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Bane Chronicles - Sarah Rees Brennan & Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 5+1 Things, Accidentally High Simon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt at Humor, Bad Jokes, Drunk Raphael Santiago, First Kiss, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Hotel Dumort, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 01:23:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10888881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: Five times Raphael notices their height difference and thinks about Simon kissing him (forehead, nose, lips) + one time Simon notices it as well and acts on it.“I’m sorry?” Simon offered with a small voice and obediently took a few sips of his blood to show he was listening to the clan leader now, that he was going to be healed in no time and there was nothing really to worry about. The fledgeling put down the glass after drinking half of its content and walked up to Raphael, tentatively stopping right in front of him.





	The perfect height

**Author's Note:**

> _Can we have a fic about Simon and Raphael's height difference? because Raphael is tiny enough to be the perfect height for Simon to kiss his forehead and I need more Saphael fluff in my life honestly_

####  **One**

“How would I have known that they can’t appreciate a good vampire pun? Almost every one of them was drunk, I thought why not lighten up the mood with a joke,” Simon complained, throwing his hands in the air before crossing his arms in front of his chest, mirroring the clan leader’s posture who was frowning at him with an annoyed glint in his eyes.

“All of the Boston Clan members that attended this meeting are a few centuries old, why would you think even one of them would appreciate this stupid kind of humour?!” Raphael glared at the fledgeling and part of him regretted making the young vampire his advisor because it had meant for Simon to attend said meeting and therefore kind of ruining it. It had gone so well, especially considering that the members of the Boston clan were pretty stuck up anyway, but then Simon had to go and ruin it with a silly joke.

_Why is a vampire a good person to take out for meals? Because he eats necks to nothing!_

“Come on, it was at least a little bit funny!”

“Not at all. It was a stupid joke and now it will take forever to get them to forget about it,” Raphael groaned and he had never been too fond of dealing with the Boston Clan so this only made things more complicated. Though, he couldn’t deny that he wasn’t exactly too sad about the fact that the members had left, offended by the terrible pun, instead of staying for the rest of the week as well but he couldn’t exactly tell Simon about that.

“I’m sorry. I seriously thought vampires would have a better sense of humour and that I could lighten the tense mood a little,” the fledgeling finally gave in and his shoulders slumped a little, arms hanging down by his sides again now while he was staring at Raphael with his big puppy eyes, silently asking for the leader’s forgiveness. “It won’t happen again, I swear. And if there’s anything I can do to help with them, just tell me.”

Raphael glared at the young vampire some more but it was impossible to stay angry at Simon for long, especially when the boy was looking at him like a kicked puppy. He breathed out a sigh and stepped closer to the fledgeling, his hand briefly reaching out to touch the other’s elbow, pressing his fingers against the cool skin there.

“It’s not the end of the world, I’ll manage to deal with them,” he said, offering the smallest hint of a smile while looking up at Simon. Raphael could never help but notice their slight height difference whenever he was this close to the fledgeling. It was just a few tiny inches Simon had on him but it was just enough to make him look up a little to meet the other’s eyes. Raphael pushed aside the thought that the fledgeling's lips were at a perfect height to easily press against his nose or, tilting his head a little, forehead. It wasn’t like he ever thought about Simon doing such thing!

* * *

**Two**

“Idiota, you almost got yourself killed! What were you thinking, running up to the demon like this?!” Raphael was furious enough for his fangs to pop up and he glared at the wide-eyed fledgeling sitting on the couch in the master suite, his third glass of blood cradled in his hands to help his wounds heal up faster.

“I thought I could take him out,” Simon muttered, dropping his gaze to the red liquid in the glass he was holding and slumping his shoulders. Raphael silently cursed the Nephilim, especially the redheaded girl, for once again getting Simon into such a dangerous situation. The fledgeling was still training control over his abilities and he was still far from being able to handle a serious fight against a pretty strong demon.

“I _told_ you to keep your distance from it and to stay back!” The clan leader stopped pacing the room and crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring Simon down with his dark eyes.

“I’m sorry?” Simon offered with a small voice and obediently took a few sips of his blood to show he was listening to the clan leader now, that he was going to be healed in no time and there was nothing really to worry about. The fledgeling put down the glass after drinking half of its content and walked up to Raphael, tentatively stopping right in front of him.

“I promise I will listen to you from now on and won’t try anything this stupid again. Please don’t be mad at me,” Simon pleaded with a hopeful little smile, leaning just a tiny bit closer that Raphael was briefly distracted by the small distance between the tip of his nose and the other’s lips.

“Drink up and get some rest,” was all he replied before turning around to walk up to his desk.

“How am I supposed to just fall asleep when you’re mad at me?”

Raphael’s shoulders slumped at the almost small sounding voice and, without turning around, he muttered an “It’s not you I’m mad at” that was just loud enough for Simon to pick it up. The fledgeling seemed happy enough with this reply because he actually did what he had been told - downed the rest of the blood before settling into the silky sheets of Raphael’s large bed to take a nap.

* * *

**Three**

“Rapha, are you drunk?”

The clan leader glared at Simon, offended by the obvious amusement in the fledgeling's voice but he didn’t resist when Simon reached out to grab his upper arms and steady him. Raphael had just come back from Magnus’s place and the warlock may have managed to sneak more alcohol into the Bloody Marys than he had noticed.

“I’m perfectly fine!”

“Oh, that’s why you’re almost falling over your own feet?” Simon teased and his grin widened a little more. He was clearly having way too much fun with this situation and Raphael would have been more offended by it if he hadn’t been mildly distracted by the closeness that basically forced him to stare at Simon’s lips for a moment because they were just _right there_. Stupid fledgeling and stupid few inched he was taller than Raphael!

“Come on, let me help you to your room,” Simon chuckled but his voice was a little softer now when he stepped next to Raphael and curled his hand around the clan leader’s elbow to steady him. Raphael wouldn’t have minded if Simon had slung an arm around his waist because it would have been the perfect excuse to press against the other’s side and snuggle up to him - Raphael could always blame it on the alcohol later. Sadly, Simon kept it at the hand on his elbow and successfully led him to the master suite of the hotel, gently nudging him to sit down on the bed.

“This is all Magnus’s fault,” Raphael muttered and even like this, his words sounded a little slurred. His eyes felt heavy while he watched Simon kneel down and untie his shoes.

“At least he portaled you back here after getting you drunk,” Simon commented with barely suppressed laughter and he set Raphael’s shoes aside before getting up again to push the suit jacket off the leader’s shoulders.

Raphael only hummed sleepily in return, his eyes already fluttering close and he fell asleep with Magnus’s voice echoing in his mind. _Solomon clearly feels the same about you - he always looks at you as if you hung the moon._

* * *

**Four**

At first, Raphael hadn’t been able to tell _why_ he disliked the red-headed Nephilim girl that much but by now he was easily able to tell the reason for his almost-hatred for this egotistical little girl. It wasn’t just about her always showing up whenever _she_ needed something but winding out of it whenever she was supposed to return the favour, it was mostly the way she treated Simon.

The fledgeling always jumped as soon as the redhead asked for his help but she was never available whenever Simon needed her. The boy had told Raphael about the time after the kidnapping before he had been turned. When he had been under the influence of Camille’s blood and thought he was turning into a vampire - that he had called his best friend, scared out of his mind, but Clary hadn’t responded to his calls and messages. She was the reason why Simon had come back to the hotel once again when Camille had finally gotten him and ended his life.

Sure, Raphael always blamed himself for obeying Camille’s order to kidnap Simon in the first place but he had done everything he could to keep the boy safe after that - got him out of the hotel and chased him off afterwards. If Clary had been a better friend and been more attentive to her best friend after he had been kidnapped by vampires, Simon would still be alive. Raphael loved having the boy around, despite acting annoyed by the fledgeling's antics most of the time, but his unbeating heart still ached for everything Simon had lost with his death.

Now, Clary had barged into the Dumort _once again_ , not caring that it was beyond rude to simply walk into other people’s house like that, even if said house was technically a hotel. She was babbling on about some mission to find another hint at Jace’s whereabouts and how she badly needed Simon’s help.

Raphael narrowed his eyes while watching the two friends argue back and forth - Simon trying to convince her that she should rather ask the Lightwood boy and his sister for this instead of an inexperienced vampire - but, of course, Clary was having none of that.

“Please, Simon, I need you with me on this,” she repeated in a hushed voice as if Raphael wouldn’t be able to still hear her perfectly clear when she just lowered her voice like this. Stupid girl, clearly having no idea how sensitive vampire hearing really was. The clan leader wasn’t too surprised that she never bothered to educate herself about it, even with her best friend being one of the Night Children. She never cared enough to bother when a matter wasn’t affecting her directly.

“I will go by myself if--”

“Ever heard of the term _emotional blackmail_ before, Fray?” Raphael stepped in, finally having heard enough of this ridiculous conversation to keep out of it for any longer. He had stuck around for exactly this reason because he knew the girl would sooner or later try to guilt Simon into helping her and Raphael felt the urge to protect the way too soft boy from this.

“Ever heard of _minding your own business_?” Clary shot back because the clan leader’s dislike of her was far from one-sided. Raphael liked to think that her dislike of him was based on the fact that he had gotten so close with Simon - maybe she was jealous that he got to spend more time with her best friend now. He wasn’t beyond admitting to himself that he would like if that were true.

“Oh, but this is my business. The fledgeling is my responsibility and I make sure that he doesn’t get dragged off to some illegal mission where he is likely to get killed,” Raphael replied smoothly, stepping next to Simon with their shoulders lightly bumping into one another. Magnus had already started teasing him about how he had lost every concept of personal space when it came to Simon but Raphael couldn’t help himself.

“You call him your friend, yet act like he is your to command whenever you please,” the clan leader added before Clary was able to open her mouth for a surely offended protest, “I do not tolerate such behaviour in my home! Next time you barge in here, I will have you removed and you will not be allowed to enter the hotel again.”

Clary looked positively shocked by the stern announcement but she was clearly aware of the fact that she couldn’t exactly argue with that - she did always walk right into the hotel as if this was her right to do so. At least the girl seemed to realise her mistake.

“I just came here to talk to Simon and ask for his help,” the redhead replied finally, brows drawn together in a frown and gaze hard as if that could do anything to impress Raphael.

“You asked and you got your answer already. Leave and stop bothering my family,” the clan leader narrowed his eyes and he expected the girl to protest some more but she glanced at Simon before actually giving in. She nodded and said her goodbyes to the fledgeling, not sparing a second glance or an apology to Raphael before finally leaving the hotel.

“I could have handled it, you know,” Simon offered after a brief moment of silence but there was amusement dancing in the words, a smile audible in every syllable despite his attempt to hide it.

Raphael only hummed but not in agreement and he finally glanced at the younger vampire when Simon softly bumped their shoulders together.

“ _I could have handled it_ ,” he repeated with a little more force behind it, contradicting the smile clearly tugging at his lips by now, “but...thank you, anyway.”

Raphael watched how the fledgeling tilted his head a little and pushed away the thought of how this caused their lips to be on the same level. He huffed and rolled his eyes, turning away to walk back upstairs to his room, ignoring the soft chuckle that followed him up the stairs.

* * *

**Five**

“I missed you.”

The surprise upon hearing these words was probably written all over Raphael’s face and he glanced at Lily who was barely able to muffle her laughter behind her hand before his eyes drifted back to the rosy-cheeked fledgeling. Simon was currently having trouble untangling himself from the blanket he was wrapped up in, almost falling off the couch in the lounge of the hotel.

“Why is he drunk?” Raphael reached out to steady Simon when the boy finally managed to win the fight against the blanket but then swayed to the side anyway while getting up, stumbling a few steps to the side but then beaming brightly at the clan leader, repeating his earlier words again.

“He’s not exactly drunk,” Stan muttered before coughing, taking a small subtle step towards the door that caused Raphael to narrow his eyes.

“He took one of the wrong blood bags, it was the blood of a drug addict,” Lily sighed, clearly wanting to get this over with and fighting off another chuckle when Simon reached out to press his palms against Raphael’s chest, muttering something about how shiny and colourful the suit jacket was - it was actually a very dark, almost black shade of blue.

“I was only gone for a week and trusted you to keep an eye on him. Why was that blood even still in the hotel? I told you to get rid of it weeks ago,” the clan leader hissed and directed his glare at Stan who was almost out of the door by now, clearly uncomfortable because he had been the one in charge of getting rid of Camille’s stash of spiked blood which he clearly hadn’t done yet.

“I swear I wanted to take care of it but other things got in the way and I forgot and...I’m terribly sorry, I will throw it out right away!” And with that, the other vampire sped out of the room, followed by Raphael’s growl of disapproval.

“Now that you’re back, you can take care of your fledgeling again,” Lily interrupted Raphael’s thought about a punishment for Stan and the clan leader didn’t even get a chance to scold her because Lily left the room with a “Have fun” as well, leaving him to deal with the drug-induced fledgeling.

“You have beautiful blue eyes,” Simon babbled as soon as Raphael made eye contact with him and there was the faint pressure of an upcoming headache building behind his temple. He had looked forward to relaxing after a stressful week of meeting with other clan leaders but now he was left babysitting a delusional Simon.

“My eyes are not blue, idiota,” he huffed and gently pushed Simon away who was way too close to think clearly right now. The young vampire’s dilated pupils, glassy eyes and rosy cheeks made it incredibly difficult to resist pulling him into a kiss or just pull him into a protective hug but Raphael was determined not to give in to either of these urges.

“Come on, I’ll bring you to your room so you can sleep the effects of the drugs off,” Raphael sighed and nudged the younger vampire lightly, hoping that Simon would manage to climb the stairs in his state without incident. He walked past Simon but was stopped before even reaching the first step when two slender arms wrapped around his middle from behind, tugging him back against Simon’s chest.

“I don’t wanna sleep alone. Can’t I stay in your room? I’ll behave, I swear,” Simon whined while pressing his face against the back of Raphael’s head, burying his nose in the leader’s perfectly styled curls and breathing him in.

“If you stop acting like a limpet I might consider it.”

“But I missed you,” Simon whined and tightened his embrace a little more as if he was afraid Raphael would break free from the hug otherwise.

The clan leader sighed and he was glad that Simon couldn’t see his face right now because he was unable to keep the corners of his mouth from curling into a smile. He had missed Simon as well, even if he would never admit to it out loud, and it was an incredible feeling to hear that the fledgeling felt the same.

“You have to let go anyway, otherwise it’s gonna be difficult to get to my room,” Raphael heard himself give in way too easily but the happy little sound Simon made in the back of his throat at that was already reward enough.

“But I can hug you again when we’re upstairs?”

“...maybe.”

Simon didn’t have to know that Raphael actually enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms with the other’s face buried in the hair at the back of his head. If he slumped a tiny bit, the fledgeling would probably be able to comfortably rest his chin on top of his head and Raphael wouldn’t mind finding out how it felt to be even more wrapped up in the other like that.

* * *

**Plus One**

“You’re alive!” Simon rushed up to the clan leader, not paying attention to the battlefield around them where the war against Valentine had just come to an end, the fields around them were covered in bodies, the ground drenched with the blood of Nephilim and Downworlders alike. The scent of death, blood and magic were heavy in the air but Simon couldn’t pay attention to any of this because all of his senses were solely focused on the battered looking clan leader.

“Seems like I am,” Raphael replied, his voice tired and uncharacteristically weak. His clothes were torn and bloody, gashes clearly visible through the tears in his shirt and Simon had honestly no idea how Raphael was still on his feet with the way he looked.

“Come on, let’s get you to Magnus, maybe he was enough energy left to at least fix you up a little,” the fledgeling offered with a slightly shaky voice, still wrapped up in the emotions of the just fought war and the incredible fear of having lost Raphael. The clan leader definitely looked worse than Simon, who had gotten his fair share of injuries as well, but the fact that Raphael was still conscious was hopefully a good sign.

“Did you see him? Is he okay?” Raphael asked at the mention of the warlock, his eyebrows drawing together in worry and Simon couldn’t believe that the older vampire managed to bring up the energy to worry about someone else despite looking like he would just fall to the ground any second now.

“I saw him before I went looking for you. He looked pretty bruised as well but Alec is with him and I’m sure he will be just fine,” he replied with a soft, soothing voice and finally gave in to the urge to reach out for Raphael, carefully tugging him closer and wrapping his arms around the exhausted clan leader.

“I was scared I lost you.” His whispered confession was muffled by Raphael’s hair where Simon had buried his face in but he was sure the other had heard him perfectly fine. His own wounds throbbed painfully, even more so when the other body sank against his, but Simon wouldn’t even think of letting go of the clan leader any time soon. His arms looped around Raphael’s lower back and with the other’s slumped position he could easily rest his chin on top of the older vampire’s head. There were dirt and blood clinging to Raphael’s now loose curls but Simon still pressed a feathery kiss to the top of his head.

“Did you just seriously kiss my head?”

Simon huffed out an exhausted laugh because even like this Raphael managed to sound utterly incredulous. He glanced down when Raphael raised his head and the fledgeling had always been aware of the fact that the leader was a tiny bit shorter than him but he had never realised it as consciously as right this moment. Instead of answering, Simon gave in to the urge to press his lips to the other’s forehead now, careful not to touch the nasty looking gash near Raphael’s temple.

“I thought I might have lost the love of my undead life, pretty sure that warrants being a tiny bit emotional,” he muttered against the cool skin of Raphael’s forehead and the other didn’t even seem too surprised about this sudden confession. The clan leader actually seemed to relax even more against Simon and tilted his head a little upwards, basically inviting the fledgeling to press another kiss to his skin, this time on the tip of his nose. Simon didn’t stop there, of course, but ducked his head a little to finally seal Raphael’s mouth with his own for a very careful and short first kiss.


End file.
